The Crucible Act III: Human Nature

Human nature is commonly displayed in books to give them a more realistic feeling.  Without putting peoples’ natural reactions into the plot of the story, the reader loses the sense of reality.  Throughout the course of the plot in The Crucible, the characters share similar attitudes to what could be still understandable today. 

One aspect of human nature which is expressed in this book is that people generally take some sort of stand for what they believe is upright.  Mr. Giles, Mr. Proctor, and Mr. Nurse, for example, all came to court to protest the the charges put against their wives for witchcraft (Miller 87).  Also, Mary Warren finally came forward to confess that she and the other girls had been lying all along to save themselves from punishment as well as for sport (Miller 106).  Reverend Hale, after realizing that the charges were ludicrous, denounced the proceedings (Miller 120).  Even the officials in Salem, however twisted their ideology may have been, seemed to have thought that they were doing what was righteous in the eyes of the Almighty God by fulfilling His will and protecting the people. 

Secondly, this book provides a depiction of how people can become manipulated so easily.  All that Abigail and the other village girls had to do was act as though they were possessed or faint and the authorities (i.e. Danforth) believed that the person brought forth to them was a witch (Miller 53, 117).

 Another point reflecting human nature is that many people will do whatever is necessary to save themselves.  This is depicted in Mary Warren.  She confesses to perjury, yet when pressures arise and her life is threatened, she recants her statement and rejoins with Abigail and the others (Miller 118). 

Vengeance is also a common human trait.  In Act 1, Abigail tells the other girls, “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 20).  After Mary betrays Abigail, Abigail and the other girls act as if they are being possessed by Mary, even when it is probable that Mary would be hung for such allegations (Miller 117). Mary’s claims against John Proctor most likely came from her loathing of him.  After having been treated poorly by Proctor for such a period of time, it is probable that she saw this as her opportunity to seek revenge and to get rid of him once and for all (Miller 59). 

Finally, people for the most part try to act in a way which would be beneficial to himself/ herself.  Although Reverend Parris had a pretty good idea that his daughter and niece partook in sorcery, he knows that such rumors would annihilate his already damaged reputation (Miller 16).  Thus, he attempts to cover up the truth and goes along with the girls’ story in order to save his name in the town.  Also, many people lied about being witches simply in order to save their own life (Miller). 

Thus far in the book there have been several depictions of human nature.  They help the reader by giving an impression of how a real person would act.  This makes the plot more entertaining for the reader as well as preventing some potential confusion.  

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.